1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing apparatus for treating soiled containers and the like, and more particularly to an apparatus operable to cleanse and sanitize glass containers in a highly advantageous fashion not possible heretofore.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is replete with numerous examples of utensil washing devices which are operable for washing and sanitizing pots, pans, trays, glasses and other utensils by a single operator with a minimum of effort. In this regard there has been a multiplicity of industrial type glass washing or utensil washing devices which are of the rotary type and which include a casing which encloses a rotary table or substantially similar assembly, and which is operable to carry the items to be washed along a predetermined path of travel, and wherein along the path of travel the item to be washed is cleansed in a predetermined fashion and then returned to its point of origin where it is subsequently removed from the casing.
It should be understood that the washing of large numbers of glasses or mugs and the like is a burdensome logistical problem for large hotels and similar institutions in general. In this regard, the operation of washing large numbers of glasses includes two discrete operations. The first operation includes cleaning the glasses for purposes of removing substantially all foreign matter such as food residue, lipstick and other solid materials. The second operation includes the sterilization or sanitizing of the glass by the exposure of same to washing water which contains various soaps and chemical solutions maintained at high temperatures or in the alternative the application of chemical solutions such as iodine based or chlorine based sanitizers which may be applied at ambient temperatures.
Generally speaking, most of the commercially available glass washing machines which have been used by large institutions heretofore have been of the variety which includes a wash cycle which applies detergents and other chemical solutions at elevated temperatures. Further, and due in part to the cost of these washing machines, and other factors, large institutions have, in general, centralized their glass washing or utensil washing operations. This centralization, of course, causes these organizations' employees to move large numbers of glasses to and from the washing station. As might be expected, this movement of glasses, is usually time consuming and labor intensive, and further creates problems in terms of breakage of glasses and also inconvenience inasmuch as the movement of these glasses must often occur from many floors away.
Heretofore, the utensil washing devices employed by industry typically have been considered cumbersome machines. More specifically, the rotary type washing devices are quite complex, and generally include such features as separate chambers or separate time intervals for conducting the process of prerinse; washing; and final rinsing of the glasses being processed. As a result, machines of the type described are quite expensive, complicated, and usually require sophisticated control means to control the various cycles of the machine. Further, most machines require an experienced operator.
While these assorted industrial type washing devices are currently available and in widespread usage, they have suffered numerous shortcomings which have detracted from their usefulness. At the outset, such machines have not operated at full capacity and at peak efficiency due primarily to operator inattentiveness regarding the proper operating conditions of the machine. For example, some prior art washing devices require the periodic changing of the wash water. This operation may require that the operator physically remove a drain assembly and associated filter for purposes of draining the wash tank and then refill same with new wash water. Such prior art devices may also require the periodic monitoring of detergents and other sanitizers which may be fed automatically by the machine but which may require periodic replenishing. In addition, most industrial washing devices may be rendered partially inoperable when foreign matter such as paper is unintentionally introduced into the machine through operator error, it being understood that the paper may inhibit some of the operational features of the device such as clogging the filtering assembly or obstructing various draining conduits.
The problems attendant to operator error and which are related to the proper maintenance and operation of a washing device may be compounded somewhat when the operator fails to properly inspect the glasses upon completion of the wash cycle and the glasses are subsequently returned to their point of origin and thereafter the glasses are discovered to be unusable and must be returned to be washed again. Therefore the current washing devices do not balance the practical needs of the modern hotel or large institution and the interrelated parameters of efficiency and the logistical cost attendant to moving and processing such large amounts of glassware for purposes of washing and reuse.
Still another problem encountered with the prior art washing devices are a result of their individual designs inasmuch as such prior art industrial type washing devices typically are quite large and further require special operational environments which may include venting or ducting to accommodate air conditioning or which are operable to collect and remove fumes and water vapor from the vicinity of the washing device and expel it to the exterior ambient environment. Such special operational environments, of course, preclude the use of such machines in other than the centralized fashion as discussed previously.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a washing apparatus which could be employed in a wide variety of different institutional environments and without the need for a special operational environment and which could be manufactured and purchased at a relatively moderate cost, and which is both highly efficient in operation and capable of operating with a minimal amount of preventive or on-going maintenance by an operator, and which further reduces to an absolute minimum the assorted problems associated with the cleansing and sterilization of large numbers of glasses.